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Manhattan Parents Commit Double Suicide Due to “Financial Spiral”

Despite suicide notes speaking of a wonderful life and financial spiral, the question of what inspired parents of two to end their lives, remains.

53-year-old chiropractor, Glen Scarpelli, and his wife, 50-year-old Patricia Colant, were found early Friday morning on Madison Ave. at E. 33 St. after reportedly jumping from the 9th floor of a 17-story office building. While their motives still aren’t entirely clear, they gave authorities a shot at understanding some semblance of why they jumped. They left behind suicide notes that celebrated a wonderful life but mentioned a “financial spiral”and spoke of their inability to live with their financial reality. Their bodies were found by local employees who were heading to work that morning.

“When I got here at 6:05 a.m., I walked by dead bodies on the ground,” a 7 Eleven employee, Kazi, told the New York Post.

Seth Gottfried/New York Post

Suicide notes were also found in ziplock bags in both the victims’ pockets. Authorities initially believed the couple had trouble with healthcare costs, but an NYPD spokesman has said that there was no mention of medical struggles in the notes. Another source added that the couple was in debt. In fact, records show that Scarpelli owed around $213,000 to the feds and roughly $42,000 to the state in taxes that dated back to 2003.

Glenn’s suicide note, entitled “WE HAD A WONDERFUL LIFE, ” suggested that his family’s “financial spiral” was the reason that he and his wife were committing suicide. Patricia’s note included, “Our kids are upstairs, please take care of them.”

Seth Gottfried/New York Post

The father, a chiropractor, and his wife, left behind two children. The couple’s son and daughter, Joseph and Isabella, are 19 and 20. Joseph attends the University of Miami while Isabella is enrolled at St. Edwards University in Texas.

“These kids had parents yesterday, and they don’t today,” said Rafael Tessler, 29, an owner of a building across the street.